


Comfort Zone

by puss_nd_boots



Category: SCREW (Band), the GazettE
Genre: Anal Sex, M/M, Oral Sex, Threesome - M/M/M, tattoo worship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 06:33:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3109640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puss_nd_boots/pseuds/puss_nd_boots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Yuuto left SCREW, something happened between Byou and Manabu – something Manabu never forgot. Now Rui has left, and Byou is down in the dumps again – but Manabu can’t let the same thing happen again. Not since Byou is dating Jin now. Except Jin may be more open-minded than Manabu thinks . . .</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort Zone

**Author's Note:**

> I knew I’d be doing a fic commemorating Rui’s departure. I’m not going to speculate on any “real” reason to have left – just presenting the guys’ reactions to the breakup of their “family.”

The atmosphere at after-tour-final parties was usually festive. You had the band, their crew, their staff and anyone else who’d helped them out celebrating the fact that they’d actually gotten through this thing, that months of shows were a wrap at long last. There was usually camaraderie, good-natured ribbing, and, of course, huge amounts of booze.

It wasn’t every tour final, though, where you ended up saying goodbye to a member of your band.

They’d known it was coming for months, of course. Rui had informed them of his decision back in the spring. There had been attempts to talk him out of it, to no avail.

They went on with the Inner Psychological World tour as if nothing was wrong, nothing was unusual about it. They played the songs from the new album, plus a few older ones (mostly in the encores). They talked to the audience, they goofed around (Rui tried to power-eat various foods, Byou tried to play various instruments, Kazuki took over the drums from Jin during s=r&b on a regular basis). They acted like everything was the same.

But in the back of their heads, they knew it wasn’t. They were going to be a four-man band at the end of this tour – for the first time since Manabu had joined them.

And when that finale came, reality crashed in like a ton of bricks.

* * *

Kazuki walked up to Manabu at the after-after party – that is, the gathering that was held after the official wrap party, usually the band and some close associates at a bar.

“You should go talk to Byou,” the older guitarist told the younger.

Manabu eyed the vocalist, who was sitting at the bar, just kind of staring into his drink. He looked . . . well, listless. Dead-eyed. He’d been his usual self during the show – well, except when he nearly broke down crying during the emcee – but now, it looked like someone had turned off the light within him.

It was the same way he’d looked the last time they lost a bassist, when Yuuto departed from the band.

Manabu’s heart ached for his bandmate just looking at him. SCREW was an important part of the guitarist’s existence, to be sure – but he knew that for Byou, it was his entire life.

“I don’t know,” he said to Kazuki. “You should. You’re better at this kind of thing than I am.”

“I did already,” Kazuki said. “I got as far as I could. I think he needs support from all of us now.”

“Jin’s with him, isn’t he?” Manabu said. He knew very well what the nature of Jin and Byou’s relationship was. They made no effort to hide the fact that they had become a couple over the last few years.

“Hasn’t left his side all night,” Kazuki said. “Come on, Manabu – are you afraid to?”

Manabu looked down. He never thought he was very good with words. He was the introvert of the group – he did most of his talking through his guitar. (Unlike Kazuki, who was usually boisterous onstage and off).

And then, there was the matter of what had happened the last time they’d lost a bassist. He’d gone to Byou, started talking to him . . . and before he knew it, the two were at Byou’s apartment, and he was providing comfort of a physical sort.

That was before Byou and Jin were a couple. He couldn’t risk that happening again.

“I . . . I don’t want to make the situation worse,” he said.

“How can you possibly do that?” Kazuki said. “Just go up to him and tell him you’re his friend and you believe in him. That you believe in us, as a group.” He paused. “You comforted him when Yuuto left, remember.”

Manabu winced. Did Kazuki know what happened last time? He hadn’t told him – but had Byou? “This . . . this isn’t the same.”

“Do I have to tickle you to get you to do it?” Kazuki said, giving Manabu a small push. “Come on, it won’t kill you. Or him.”

Manabu took a deep breath and walked over to his bandmate. He perched gingerly on the barstool next to him. Jin was on the other side of him, holding onto Byou’s hand.

He swallowed. Comforting words. He had to come up with comforting words. Last time . . . what had he said then? It was a blank. All he could remember of that night was how it had ended up – with him naked on Byou’s bed, the two men wrapped around each other all night, alternating between sleeping and making love.

The best damn sex Manabu had ever had.

He took another deep breath. He couldn’t think about that. Things were different now, right? The very fact that Jin was next to Byou, holding his hand, said that they were.

“Byou?” Manabu said, and even his own voice sounded strange to him. “I . . . I just want you to know that . . .”

He felt two heads swiveling toward him – Byou and Jin. Both pairs of eyes were on him, making him feel like a deer in the headlights. Great, this wasn’t helping matters one bit. What was it Kazuki told him to say?

“I believe in you,” he said. “I believe in us. In all of us. We’re . . . we’re going to be okay.”

Byou reached out his other hand and grabbed Manabu’s. “Do you really believe that?” he said.

“Yes,” he said. “I . . . I do. We’ve been together for so long, and been through so much as a band. We’re not just going to fall apart.” The words were coming a bit easier now – to his relief.

“See?” Jin said. “It’s the same thing I’ve been telling you all night, baby. Can you believe me now?”

Byou looked sadly at the two. “I just can’t believe this is happening again,” he said.

“We got through it last time,” Manabu said. “We’ll get through it again. We’re strong.”

“We can’t get through it the same way we did then,” Byou said.

Manabu blushed. “I . . .I . . .” Well, so much for his newfound eloquence. All Byou had to do was bring up THAT and he was a stammering fool.

“Things have changed now,” Byou said, looking in his glass. “I wish they could be like they were, but . . .”

He was saying this right in front of his current boyfriend? Manabu glanced over at Jin – who seemed totally nonplussed. Did Jin know what had happened back then?

“Maybe they haven’t changed as much as you think they have,” Jin said – which nearly made Manabu fall off his barstool. Was . . . was he actually encouraging Byou to cheat?

“They have,” Byou said, quietly. “We already agreed, remember?”

“You can’t rule anything out at this point,” Jin said. “If the right person comes along . . .”

Now Manabu’s eyes were wide as saucers. He’d just . . . give his boyfriend away to “the right person?” Really? He’d heard about liberal couples before, but this . . .

“Manabu?” said Jin, and he almost jumped through the ceiling again. “Are you okay?”

“Um, sure,” he said. “Just a little . . . you know . . .”

“Drunk?” Byou said.

“No!” Manabu said – though he was starting to wonder if he should remedy that. “Nothing like that!”

“Maybe we should include you in this,” Jin said, and Manabu blushed redder. Include him?

“Include me . . . in . . .”

“In the pep talks of course,” Jin said. “What do you think we were talking about?”

“I guess . . . um, before that, you were . . .” And there goes the blush again. He was going to burst into flames pretty soon.

“Before that, we were talking about the fact that Rui joined us almost as soon as Yuuto left. We had already agreed that we were going to stay a four-man band, but I told him we should still be open to the right person joining us.”

“Oh,” Manabu said. “I, um, well . . .”

Byou put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Manabu, are you thinking about what happened when Yuuto left?”

Bingo. He was . . . to the point where he was interpreting everything he heard to be around the same lines.

“What happened?” Jin said, looking genuinely curious – and then, a light seemed to go on behind his eyes. “Oh – that.”.

“Yes, that,” Byou said.

Manabu swallowed hard. Byou had told Jin? Well, that wasn’t totally illogical – they were lovers. Lovers usually didn’t have secrets between them.

“And I think it helped,” Byou said. “It helped both of us.”

“Why both of us?” Manabu said.

“You were hurting from Yuuto leaving, too,” Byou said. “Remember?”

Manabu did. He’d been close to Yuuto – probably more so than anyone in the band except Byou. Which is why it hurt when Yuuto started growing apart from them, becoming more distant . . .and ultimately leaving.

“I remember,” he said, softly. “Just like . . . Rui leaving hurts now.”

“It hurts all of us,” Jin said, leaning over and putting a hand on top of Manabu’s. “We’d all grown into a family, and now . . . we’re missing a member.”

“I think it’s even hurting Kazuki,” Manabu said. “Even though he’s acting normal – well, as normal as Kazuki can be – there’s just a look in his eyes. Like the light is a bit dim.” He looked around. “Where did Kazuki go, anyway?”

“Left with Aoi,” Jin said. “Are you surprised?”

Manabu shook his head. “Not at all.” He knew Aoi and Kazuki were a couple – even more so than Byou and Jin were.

“He needs comfort right now,” Byou said, softly. “Just like . . .” He looked away. “Never mind.”

Well, that made it very obvious what Byou was thinking right now – he needed comfort, too. Close comfort. The kind Manabu gave him last time. But . . . that wasn’t his job to do anymore. Not with Jin right there.

And then, his mind ran back to earlier, when they were talking about the possibility of someone else joining the band – and the place his mind had gone to. The idea of both him and Jin providing Byou with comfort. Why was he thinking about it again – and why was the idea more than a little appealing to him?

“Maybe . . . maybe I should go,” Manabu said, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. He really shouldn’t be here, should he? Not anymore, at least. The time for that was past. In fact, he was getting in the way of this couple by being . . .

“No,” Byou said, reaching out and putting a hand across Manabu’s back. “Stay . . . please. I want you to.”

Manabu looked nervously over at Jin. “Is that okay with you?” he said.

“Of course it is,” Jin said.

Manabu took a swallow of his drink. Well, they just wanted him to stay and talk with them, right? If it looked like they wanted or needed to do something more intimate, he was going to leave, and let them have their alone-together time.

“What a way to start off the year, isn’t it?” Manabu said. At this point, he was wondering if he was talking just to hear the sound of his own voice. “I mean, we have a few days until New Year’s, but . . . we’re starting a new year having lost a member.”

“There’s still the rest of us left,” Jin said. “Remember that.”

Byou reached over and grabbed Jin’s hand. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said. “If you leave, I’m going to hunt you down and drag you back – physically.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Jin said. “I’m stuck like glue. You know that.”

Manabu listened to them, quietly, just fiddling with his glass. He was starting to feel uncomfortable again. As an introvert, love wasn’t something that he put high on his personal agenda – it was something that it would be nice if he had in his life, but he wasn’t going to cry or get desperate if he didn’t. But hearing those two together right now, a tiny spark of something akin to jealously stirred within him.

He began wondering, again, if he should leave. Maybe if he got up and quietly slipped out . . .

Until he felt Byou grip his hand again. “And you’re not leaving, either,” he said. “I’d drag you back in a heartbeat.”

Manabu was going to reply – when Byou suddenly leaned over and kissed him. It wasn’t deep or intimate – it was just a quick touch of lips on lips, the kind of fanservice one would perform during a live – but it shocked Manabu to the core.

Not to mention the fact that it sent a delicious shudder running through his whole body. Suddenly, his mind was alive with echoes of that one night they had spent together. He pulled away, blushing – and glanced over at Jin, to see his reaction.

Jin didn’t seem angry. In fact, he seemed rather . . . interested. He was leaning over, with a gleam in his eyes.

Byou turned toward his lover. “What?” he said.

“Just wondering why you stopped,” Jin said.

“I didn’t want to go too far,” Byou said.

“Well, I don’t think you were,” Jin said – and then turned toward Manabu. “What about you? Do you think he was going too far?”

“Um . . .” Manabu blushed bright red. Well, that was really adding to the dialogue, wasn’t it?

“Maybe you should have done this,” Jin said – and he got up, walked around to Manabu’s barstool, pulled his head toward him and planted his lips on the guitarist’s – and this was a hard kiss that left no doubt as to his intentions.

Manabu just sat there, kissing back, his head swimming. What the hell was happening? It wasn’t the first time Jin had suddenly kissed him – he’d definitely done it for the cameras in one of their making-of documentaries – but this didn’t feel like mere fanservice. Very much the opposite – it felt real.

Oh, God, what he was thinking before, about both of them being with him . . . it was real, it was happening, and his heart was about to pound out of his chest.

Jin separated from him, and then Byou was kissing him again, a deeper and more insistent one this time, with tongue pressing against his lips. Manabu found himself opening up with a gasp, pushing his tongue against Byou’s, purring in his throat . . . and then Jin was kissing his neck as Byou kissed his lips, and he shuddered from head to toe, thinking this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening, but oh, God, it was . . .

The two of them eased away from him, and he just sat there, eyes closed, breathing heavily. Holy hell, they were still in the bar, weren’t they? Granted, this was a VK hangout and the staff had seen just about everything at this point, but still . . .

Byou echoed his sentiments. “Maybe we should go somewhere else?”

“I don’t know,” Jin said. “That depends on Manabu.”

He opened his eyes, slowly, looking at the other two. “Yes,” he said, softly.

“Yes, what?” Byou said. It wasn’t harsh and demanding – just making sure he knew exactly what Manabu was thinking.

“Yes, I want to go home with you,” he said. “With . . .with both of you.” There was that dizzy, surreal, oh-my-God-this-is-really-happening feeling again, but he also knew he meant exactly what he said. The need, the hunger to experience both men at once was overwhelming him.

“You heard the man,” Jin said. “Let’s go.”

Manabu rose slowly to his feet and followed the couple out into the street, where Byou raised his hand to hail a cab. One small part of Manabu thought, you still can turn and run and end this insanity . . .

But he wasn’t. Because most of him didn’t want to end it at all.

The cab arrived, and they were all quiet during the ride to Byou’s place . . . as if talking would lead them to them doing other things before they even got to their destination. When it did pull up, though, Byou was very quick to pay the man and get out, followed by the others.

Manabu just breathed deeply and slowly as the elevator rose to the correct floor. He still couldn’t believe that this was happening. Maybe they’d all get into the apartment and realize what they were doing and laugh about how silly the whole idea was and . . .

Well, that didn’t happen. They walked into the apartment, shed coats and shoes, entered the living room . . . and instantly picked up where they left off in the bar. Byou pulled Manabu into an embrace, kissing his lips hard, pushing his tongue into his mouth. Jin took things even further than he did before – he didn’t just kiss Manabu’s neck, his hands began to roam his body, running along his torso, firmly caressing him through his shirt, even finding a nipple and gently rubbing it.

“Ah!” Manabu gasped when Byou’s mouth parted from his, only to nibble at his earlobe – just what he did the last time, when it was just the two of them in bed. And he was aware that Jin’s hands were on his shirt buttons now, unfastening them slowly, moving down to his zipper.

“Your bedroom,” he murmured. “Please . . .”

“He has a point,” Byou told Jin – before reaching down to cover Jin’s hand over Manabu’s zipper. The two of them moved the metal piece down together, and the sound reverberated through the room.

They each took his hands and led him down the hall toward the bedroom door, Manabu’s pants sliding down as he moved, but he didn’t care about that a bit – the garment was going as soon as they reached their destination anyway.

The door opened, and they moved toward the bed, letting go of Manabu’s hands, Byou began to light the pillar candles that were on the nighttable – not to mention getting condoms and lube out of the drawer. Manabu took the opportunity to drop his unfastened clothes to the floor, climbing onto the bed, the comforter feeling cool against his hot skin.

He heard clothing rustling, and then felt another naked body press against him. He turned, and could see Jin’s form in the candlelight, looking sexy as hell, what with those well-muscled and tattooed arms, that gorgeous face . . .

Manabu knew in that moment that he’d desired his bandmate for a long time, that every time he’d jokingly kissed him while doing fanservice, he’d quietly wished it was for real.

“Look at you,” Jin said, gently running his fingers along Manabu’s cock. “You’re hard already.”

“We’ll have to catch up,” Byou said, lying down on Manabu’s other side and pressing against him as well. Oh, yes, oh, yes, he was the filling in a sandwich now, the most delicious kind of sandwich there ever could be. He closed his eyes and savored how they felt, the contrast in their scents, the different texture of their skins, the way they were each kissing his flesh – Byou working along his shoulder, Jin kissing the nape of his neck . . .

Manabu reached out with both hands, each one sliding down the body of one of his lovers, feeling two flat stomachs, caressing the skin as he went – and then finding both cocks. He let his fingers run over them, noting how different they were, deliciously so,, each with their own shape and ridges and curves . . . he caressed them over and over, as if he were a sculptor working with clay, trying to bring out the finest details in his art.

To his surprise, the men had different moan zones, too – Byou reacted the most strongly when Manabu caressed just under the head of his erection, Jin when he rubbed the base, just above the balls.

“Fuck, you’re good at this,” Byou gasped. “Even better than I remember.”

Manabu responded by leaning over, burying his head in Byou’s chest and kissing a nipple, running his tongue over it, and it felt so good, tasted so good . . . he remembered doing this that one night, how he thought about it so much afterward, how many times he’d fantasized about that evening while touching himself . . .

He let go of both cocks and turned around toward Jin, doing the same thing to him, kissing the nipple and letting his hands run over those arms, caressing the muscles.

“You’re wild,” Jin gasped. “I knew you’d be amazing. It’s always the quiet boys . . .”

Manabu responded by moving his head over to one arm, kissing the floral tattoo, tracing the lines of it with the tip of his tongue. Jin was right – he felt wild right now, wilder than he was any other time or place, except when he was onstage with his guitar. Sex and music were the two venues he used to really express himself.

Except he didn’t do enough of the former, because of his shyness – which is why he was really going for it now.

He reached over to caress Jin’s nipple as he continued the ink worship, kissing along the intricate lines . . . and he became aware that Byou was at Jin’s other arm, doing the same thing, rubbing the other bud. Jin seemed to be in an erotic trance, eyes closed, moaning softly.

Byou and Manabu both raised their heads, and leaned over across Jin’s body, kissing each other hard, rubbing their tongues together. They parted, and then Byou kissed Jin, tongue-fucking his mouth the way experienced lovers did with one another . . . and Manabu found that he wasn’t jealous. On the contrary, he was really, really turned on.

Jin pulled him in for a kiss next, and Manabu didn’t hesitate in pushing his tongue forward, moving it in and out of Jin’s mouth, all inhibitions thrown completely to the winds.

“Do you want to suck his cock?” Byou asked him, stroking his hair, bending over and kissing Manabu’s neck. “Because I want to watch you do it.”

“Yes,” Manabu gasped. “But . . . but I want you to . . .”

“Tell us,” Byou said. “Go on . . .”

Manabu took a deep breath. “I want you to fuck me while I’m doing it,” he said.

“Mmm, you want to be filled with cock from both ends?” Jin said, teasingly. “You’re even wilder than I thought you were.”

“Please,” Manabu moaned, and he found himself turning over, pushing his ass up in the air, inviting them to prepare him. His heart was pounding, and his head was spinning, and he was aware that this was only one night, but he wanted it to last forever.

He felt the two of them shift around on the bed, and then he felt a lubed finger – Byou’s – push into his entrance. He pushed his hips backward, wanting to take more of it in, just wanting to be completely filled.

“Be patient,” Byou told him as he moved the finger in and out. “We want this to be just pleasurable for you, don’t we? No pain.” Manabu just followed his motions, eyes closed tightly, lips parted as he breathed heavily.

Then, a second finger entered him, and he realized that instead of Byou, it was Jin. He clutched at the bed, parting his legs wider, letting them both finger-fuck him, knowing he couldn’t get enough.

Byou pushed a third finger in, and Manabu thought he was going to explode. What would it be like, he thought for a moment, to have both of them try to get in more fingers, to stretch him to the absolute limits . . .

But then, both men were pulling out, and Jin was kneeling in front of him. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s see what that pretty mouth can do.”

Manabu bent over, running his tongue up one side of the erection in front of him, feeling the textures he’d experienced before, but now with the added sensation of taste and scent. He moved up to the tip, running around it, teasing the little opening, then moving down again, finding that spot at the base and rubbing his tongue against it.

“Yes,” Jin gasped. “Yes, you’re so good . . .”

Manabu felt his ass parted by Byou’s hands and lube being poured into the cleft, and then there was hardness pressing against him, working its way in, slowly and gently. “Oh, you feel amazing,” Manabu gasped, pulling his mouth away from Jin, grabbing at the other man’s hips.

“You want all of this that you can take, don’t you?” Byou said.

“Yes,” Manabu gasped. “I need it . . .”

“You’ll get it,” Byou said. “But only if you give Jin what you promised him.”

Manabu opened his mouth, wrapped his lips around the tip of Jin’s erection and slid down on him, savoring the feel of the hardness gliding over his lips and tongue, just as another hardness pushed further into him, harder and deeper.

He was being completely filled, totally possessed by two cocks. He was just a vessel for both of them right now, and he loved it, loved it so much. He started to suck hard, moving his head back and forth, feeling Byou starting a slow, gentle thrust inside him.

Manabu just wished he could see a mirror right now, see the sight of himself bent over, mouth wrapped around Jin, ass pushed toward Byou, and the two men plundering him from both ends, Byou starting to thrust a little faster as Manabu picked up the tempo with his sucking, moving his head faster.

He could hear the moans of both men, feel their hands moving on him – Jin grabbing his hair as he sucked harder, Byou running along his sides, gripping his flesh . . . he ran a hand up Jin’s stomach, feeling the sweat slicking him, the heat of his body.

They were moving faster now, Byou just about pounding into him, Manabu bobbing his head up and down at the same pace, caressing Jin with his tongue wherever he could, Jin lifting his hips to push himself in further. The three churned like a well-oiled machine, grinding and rubbing and thrusting, their moans filling the room.

He heard Jin moan faster, harder, and Manabu quickly pulled his mouth away, stroking that sensitive place at the base of the other man’s cock – causing Jin to cry out, spraying come all over Manabu’s face, which Manabu licked at, moaning softly as he did so.

Byou saw the come bath, and he pulled out of Manabu, yanking off the condom and tossing it aside. He grabbed himself with one hand, Manabu with the other, and began a rapid stroking of both cocks, until he cried out himself, pouring his own essence all over the guitarist’s ass.

When Manabu heard Byou’s cries, he finally let go, ecstasy bursting through his body even more intensely than when he was with just Byou, coming all over the vocalist’s hand, feeling Byou rub it back on him, and yes, that was good, he wanted to be bathed in come from head to toe . . .

He collapsed to the bed, feeling completely drained, and was aware of the other two kissing him, first Byou, then Jin, and then the two of them kissing each other. They cuddled up in a heap, purring contentedly and stroking each other.

Finally, Manabu said, “Thank you. I . . . I needed to do that.” Pause. “We all did.”

“We did,” Byou said. “I’m so glad you stayed.”

“So am I,” Jin said. “You were even hotter than we thought you’d be.”

“Thought?” Manabu said with curiosity, raising his head.

Byou and Jin looked at each other over his body, and both broke out into laughter – in Byou’s case, it was more nervous giggling than anything else.

“We’ve had a shared fantasy of having you in bed with us for awhile,” Jin said.

“We both wanted it,” Byou said. “We didn’t want to actually bring it up, though, because we didn’t know how you’d react. What happened tonight . . .”

“Rui leaving created an opening for it to happen,” Manabu said, gently. And who would have thought that something so awful, something that had made them so sad, would lead to something like this.

“I wish it had happened another way,” Jin said. “But, yes.”

“I just hope you feel better now,” Manabu said to Byou, leaning his head on the other man’s chest. Yes, that was what started it, Byou’s melancholy . . .

“I do,” Byou said. “I feel a lot better.” He reached a hand up to stroke Manabu’s hair – and realized it was covered with come. “Oh, I’m sorry . . .”

“It’s okay,” Manabu said, blushing. “I . . . I liked it, when it was happening. I used to think about that, too.”

“You had fantasies of being with us, too?” Jin said.

Manabu closed his eyes, thinking of the number of times he’d masturbated over one or the other of them, something he had difficulty admitting even to himself – until now. “Yes,” he said.

Jin kissed him. “Then this was meant to happen,” he said.

“Does . . . does that mean . . .” Manabu looked from one of them to the other. “That this might happen again? That this wasn’t just for one night?”

“That depends,” Jin said. “How do you feel about three-way relationships?”

This was more than Manabu had dared even fantasize about. Being actually invited into their relationship? Being an equal partner? Was he hearing what he thought he heard?

“I . . . I . . .” He suddenly looked at the other man. “Byou, is that okay with you?”

“It’s more than okay with me,” Byou said. “It’s something I’ve wished would happen.”

“Really?” Manabu blushed redder than he could ever remember blushing.

“Do you think we _just_ wanted to fuck you?” Jin said. “Fucking you was a big part of the fantasy, of course, but it was always something more.”

Manabu couldn’t believe it. Christmas had come late – or his birthday had come early. This was the most wonderful gift anyone could give him. He knew that such a relationship wouldn’t be a walk in the park, of course – those things took effort. A lot of communication, a lot of trust. But he was willing to do that in order to be with these men.

“Yes,” he said. “Yes – I want to do it. I want all of us to be together.” He reached out and hugged the other two.

“It’s settled,” Byou said, squeezing him harder. “You’re in the family now, and you’re never getting away.” His expression was the opposite of what it had been before – like this had gone from one of the worst nights ever to one of the best.

“We have to thank Kazuki,” Manabu said. “He was the one who insisted I go over to you.” And it suddenly occurred to him that maybe Kazuki did that for a reason. Did Kazuki catch the vibes between the three of them, know that Manabu and Byou had been together when Yuuto left, know about Jin and Byou’s shared fantasy? And did it really matter?

All that mattered was the end result, which was . . . wonderful. For all of them.

Maybe, Manabu thought, in a way, they should thank Rui, too.

* * *

Three months later, Aoi parked the car in the garage of the new apartment house where Kazuki’s bandmates were living.

“I hope you got the present,” he said. “I never know what to get for a housewarming for a three-way relationship.”

Kazuki laughed. “Don’t worry, I know them,” he said. “I got something appropriate.”

“You didn’t go to the sex toy store?” Aoi said.

“I couldn’t do that to Manabu!” Kazuki said.

“Why not?” said Aoi. “That’s appropriate, isn’t it?”

“Manabu would keel over dead,” Kazuki said. “Absolutely dead. And that would ruin the party. Besides, how would you have liked it if someone had done that to us when we moved in?”

“I would have loved it,” Aoi said. “It would have been the gift that keeps on giving, and everyone would know I’m a really fun guy.”

“They can figure that out on their own!” Kazuki said. He hopped out of the car, carefully carrying his bag – which contained a set of glasses that had the English letters “M” “B” and “J” intertwined. He’d had them custom-made – but dammit, these guys were worth it. They were family.

“You didn’t ask them for videos of their activities, did you?” Aoi said, wrapping an arm around Kazuki as they headed for the elevator.

Kazuki blushed. “Aoi!”

“We could always do a video exchange, you know,” he said. “Send them ours, they send us theirs . . .”

“I’m not doing anything like that!” Kazuki said. It was amazing, sometimes, how the bold and brazen Kazuki among his bandmates became quite the opposite when he was alone with his lover.

“I meant videos of our home decorating,” Aoi said. “Since you’ve taken it upon yourself to remodel the place. What did you think I meant?”

“Aoi!” Oh, he knew damn well what Kazuki was thinking – and he was reveling in it, too.

Aoi squeezed him tighter. “Let’s just see what your friends have done with the place, okay? And what kind of takeout they ordered. You KNOW that none of them cooked.”

That, Kazuki wasn’t going to argue with. He did know his friends, after all.

He smiled as they rode the elevator up to the threesome’s new apartment. He was just glad that the little push he’d given Manabu had worked the way he wanted it to. It got Manabu to admit feelings everyone but him knew he had, and helped comfort Byou as well.

Ironically, by losing one of them, the band had now become even more of a family.


End file.
